looking to start reloading

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wreckingball

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Hey guys,

so i finally started to think that i should reload my 9mm , .223 , 308 and other calibers , what i am asking is your advice on a reloading station , when i talk to the guys at my club they all recommend me to buy Dillon XL650 and i find its quite pricey, i herd that i would be better off with used to start reloading. i would prefer a multi stage but not sure the brands or the personal experience you had .

Thank you in advance
 
When I started out, I started with a Lee Classic Cast Turret press. It also will serve as a single stage press by removing the indexing rod.

The base is made from cast iron, and turrets can be interchanged. Once you've adjusted your dies, you don't have to really fiddle with it much

I currently use it to reload .40SW, .44Magnum, 45 ACP, .357magnum, .223Remington, .308W, 30-06 and soon 9mm luger.

Get a good reloading book (I used ABC of reloading, and Lee handbook). Watched tons of Youtube videos of reloading.

The first caiber that I reloaded was a .45ACP, one of the easiest calibers to reload.
 
If you are on a budget and want to reload pistol as well as rifle on one press I have to agree with Roadcarver. The Lee Classic Turret press is an excellent choice. While a single stage is an excellent "first press" for someone who is reloading for rifles, loading pistol on a single stage will quickly become frustrating.

OP, one key question is how many rounds per week (pistol and rifle) do you plan on reloading. Progressive presses like the Dillon 550 and 650 are at least twice as fast (550 and 650 rounds/hr respectively)as an indexing turret press like the Lee, at least for pistol. A single stage would be doing well to produce 100 pistol rounds per hour. Rifle reloading volume is more difficult to answer since brass prep can vary considerably depending on your rifle and your needs. Some rifle reloading (e.g. Bulk 223) can go as fast on a progressive as pistol.

Another consideration some will mention is the quality of ammo from the different presses with single stages (and arbor presses) accepted as the best. My experience is that this is only a factor if you are shooting long range matches or BR. All of the presses can produce ammo capable of sub-Moa performance in the right rifle, with the right shooter.
 
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What's with guys telling every new reloader to buy a $1500 Dillon set up to start off with?? Blows my mind.

Now getting to the question.

There's nothing wrong with either revommendation in the posts above. I have both presses mentioned and I use them both and they both work well. The Dillon 650 is very nice but honestly unless you shoot a rediculously high amount of ammo every week and only shoot a couple of calibers it's not needed.

I have 4 presses bolted to my bench a Lee classic cast turret, a Lyman t-6 turret, an old Rockchucker single stage and an RCBS 4x4 progressive. I bought them all used except the Lee turret. That I bought new as my first press as the price was right. The other 3 were bought used and we're bought cheap. They all make good ammo and they all will outlast me I bet.

I've loaded 9mm on my Lee turret and I can do 2-300 per hour which is more then enough for me and I shoot quite a bit.

Used equipment is the way to IMHO as you can have super nice sure high end stuff at ennis on the dollar.
 
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Don't hesitate to buy a starter single stage press because you will want to have one for case prep when you eventually do get a progressive.

Lots of guys have several presses so that they aren't forever changing over from different dies and jobs.
 
Good advice given, especially about buying used. One thing I found was that it helped me start with one calibre, get good at loading it, and then move on to others. I found loading rifle and pistol calibres were quite different and needed different approaches with brass prep, crimping, general fussiness, etc.
 
I agree that the Lee Classic Turret Kit is a great place to start. Saves buying a single stage and then replacing it if it doesn't meet your volume needs.

I think in this case buying new might be best, just because the new Classic Turret Kit comes with the new Auto Drum powder measure, which is a improvement over the old Auto Disk. And at under $300 from X-reload you can't go wrong.
 
I would get a Dillon 550 if you find the cost of a 650 too daunting. You will still get pretty good productivity out of it and conversion parts are less expensive than for the 650. I find my 550 to be a good press for a variety of rifle and pistol cartridges that can be easily converted in a few minutes, including primer size if required. I had absolutely no difficulty learning to load on this press. You can start by running one case at a time through it until you get the hang of the process.

I would consider a progressive an absolute must for pistol reloading. I would rather just buy 9mm ammo than load it with a single stage press.
 
Thank you all for the input, as per shooting i plan on eventually shooting 500 rds of 9mm per week , might not be alot but would reload on my days off , and rifle wise would be my .223 and all my ,308 brass i kept over the years
 
wreckingball said:
Thank you all for the input, as per shooting i plan on eventually shooting 500 rds of 9mm per week , might not be alot but would reload on my days off , and rifle wise would be my .223 and all my ,308 brass i kept over the years
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500 rounds is no problem on a Lee turret. Once you get good at it you can do that in a couple hours.
 
Tinman204 said:
What's with guys telling every new reloader to buy a $1500 Dillon set up to start off with?? Blows my mind.

Now getting to the question.

There's nothing wrong with either revommendation in the posts above. I have both presses mentioned and I use them both and they both work well. The Dillon 650 is very nice but honestly unless you shoot a rediculously high amount of ammo every week and only shoot a couple of calibers it's not needed.

I have 4 presses bolted to my bench a Lee classic cast turret, a Lyman t-6 turret, an old Rockchucker single stage and an RCBS 4x4 progressive. I bought them all used except the Lee turret. That I bought new as my first press as the price was right. The other 3 were bought used and we're bought cheap. They all make good ammo and they all will outlast me I bet.

I've loaded 9mm on my Lee turret and I can do 2-300 per hour which is more then enough for me and I shoot quite a bit.

Used equipment is the way to IMHO as you can have super nice sure high end stuff at ennis on the dollar.
Click to expand...

There are some folk that go that route because we have had to completely change out almost all of our equipment along the years as the reloading bug takes serious hold! It simply would have been a lot easier to have gone big in the first place.

I really believe the answer to all of these "I think I am going to get into reloading threads" is pretty simple.

Do you want top end accuracy for the lowest cost?
Do you shoot a lot?
Do you shoot non standard calibers?
Are you considering taking up a high volume / high cost form of shooting when considering ammo. (Precision rifle / IPSC etc)
Do you enjoy fiddling / cleaning / testing and quality assurance related items?

Yes to any of the above, sure try with the cheapest single press type loading kit, it will be a start. But if you are going to honest with yourself on any of the above questions, then think bigger.

If you are going to try to get the best out of your hunting rifle, then go out and buy 5 packs of the most expensive hunting ammo you can find. There will be one or more that will get you to the necessary level of accuracy.

If you shoot a pistol, then just go bulk purchase?

If use a milsurp, then go surplus in bulk. Its cheaper or at least close.

But if you are going any fmore than this, then go higher end, it will save you $ in the longer run. Even if you sell it, the resale value for the higher end equipment is better.

IMHO I think "go big or go home' is apt in this subject. I really wish I had gone with the top end Dillon from day one. The trouble was I was not being honest with myself. I still regret it to this day.

Candocad.
 
Tinman204 said:
500 rounds is no problem on a Lee turret. Once you get good at it you can do that in a couple hours.
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Personally, 2 hours at the turret press, grinding out 500 rounds each week seems like a lot to me. That volume of shooting would have me looking at a progressive press for pistol and possibly a single stage for rifle. If it has to be one press only a D550 would work for both rifle and pistol. I don't know about y'all but I find it a PITA to change calibres/primers on the 650, especially if it is for a run of a hundred rounds or less of rifle ammo.

It's interesting that I don't mind spending a few hours making accuracy loads for my bolt action but cranking the handle for a few hours to turn out bulk ammo drives me a little nuts.
 
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